The Cambridge Dictionary defines “hostile architecture” in the following manner: “the design of public spaces in a way that stops unwanted behaviour.” In the previous issue, The Mass Media incorrectly identified anti-skateboarding metal dividers as anti-homeless architecture. This was a result of the undeniable similarities between the two types of hostile architecture. The Mass Media’s mission is to provide well-researched and informative articles to the student body and to the Boston Metro Area. Unfortunately, our misidentification of urban architecture was incorrect, and we sincerely apologize to the student body for the misinformation we unintentionally communicated. We would like to reiterate that this misinformation comes as a result of the very similar design of both types of architecture, as they are both classified as “hostile architecture,” and have similar designs and purposes.
In order for articles to be published at The Mass Media, they must go through several checkpoints including copyeditors, the Managing Editor and the Editor-in-Chief. Despite the fact that this was Opinions and not News, Opinions articles should still ensure that there is no potential for misinformation. In this case, the writer misunderstood the nature of these metal bars, we at The Mass Media failed to identify the possible issues with this article and were only informed about the mistake following the publication of the article. We sincerely apologize for any misinformation we may have spread as a result of this article, as we pride ourselves on our journalistic integrity. This mistake is not only a mistake of our misidentification, but also a mistake of the checks put inplace to ensure our articles are properly vetted, and for this, we apologize. We encourage any faculty with comments and concerns to reach out to our Opinions Editor Matthew Reiad, at [email protected]. Thank you for your continued support of The Mass Media.